BARN OWL ON THE LAWN, NOT IN THE DARK!
What’s afoot in the Park after dusk has fallen, you’ve drawn the curtains and are curled up on the sofa watching Corrie? As much life and death drama as your fave soap!
As daylight fades, hundreds of crows are settling down to roost for the night in the tallest trees. The best place to see them is from the Belvoir Park Car Park or watch the mature trees beside Moorlands Meadows. One nice thing about these short days is that you don’t have to sit up until all hours to count crows. 5pm will do nicely.
Meanwhile, smaller hedgerow birds make a beeline for the ivy wrapped round virtually every tree in the Park. The ivy is just starting to fruit, so it provides vital food and cover in one go. At dusk, birds such as tits go flying into the glossy leaves at high speed in a headlong rush for the good spots. Tucked up for the night, the tits are safe from daytime predators such as the sparrow hawk who take small birds on the wing.
Once it’s fully dark, the owls have the run of the place. Both long-eared and short-eared owls are known to live near the Lagan, but the Park team are particularly keen to get confirmed sightings.
Other nighttime predators include foxes, badgers and otters. Darkness suits otters as they operate by feel rather than sight. Their whiskers function like a cat’s, feeling vibrations in the water.
Compared to some places, our after dark wildlife can seem pretty tame. A friend who lives in rural Pennsylvania has to bring her bird feeders in every night. If not, they’re attacked and destroyed by bears!
Speaking of sightings: We need your eyes! The Park’s Wildlife Monitoring Project depends on sightings from hawk-eyed regular visitors. Eight species have been targeted for confirmed sightings, including four birds: the jay, barn owl, long tailed tit and kingfisher. Forms are now available at the Lock Keepers Cottage with identification details, pictures of these species, and a place to note what you saw, when you saw it and where. The forms will shortly be available in downloadable format from www.laganvalley.co.uk
And finally – there are still a few places for the Roost Ramble on December 5, a guided walk through ‘crow country’ led by a Lagan Valley Park ranger. Call 90491930 to book.
DAVID WITH A BARN OWL - DAVID HELPS TO CO WRITE THIS BLOG AND IS A LAGAN VALLEY RANGER
Beautiful owl! We have them here in Pennsylvania, too. I often hear them hooting in the woods late at night, but rarely see them during daylight hours. Speaking of our bears, once it gets cold enough they'll go into hibernation for the winter and the feeders will be safe until they wake up in the spring!